Kenton escapes Wealdstone Brook flooding - did local environmental action help?

Cllr Sunita Hirani (Kenton) has posted a Tweet re yesterday's flood warning about potential flooding in Kenton (and Wealdstone and Wembley) after heavy rain last night. 

She said:

I have been informed this evening that there were no reported floodings in the Kenton area of the Wealdstone Brook yesterday (Monday 15th July 2024) evening. The Environment Agency issued a flood warning for the area of Kenton around the Wealdstone Brook at around 8 pm (Monday 15th July 2024) for potential flooding in the area at around 9pm. My videos taken at about that time show the Brook coping with the volume of water and no flooding on the road around Lindsay Drive roundabout. 

 

Maybe, just maybe, someone, somewhere, will actually admit the fact that the work we did - the Brook Way Community Biodiversity Project CIC, in conjunction with Thames Water, at Lindsay Drive roundabout in clearing the dead, decaying and diseased trees, trunks and branches, actually contributed to avoiding a flooding disaster in the Kenton area yesterday evening. 

 

I can but dream.

 

GOVERNMENT FLOOD WARNING!!! WEALDSTONE BROOK AT KENTON, WEALDSTONE AND WEMBLEY

 

River levels are rising rapidly on the Wealdstone Brook due to heavy rainfall overnight tonight, Monday 15th July, and flooding is expected when river levels are at their highest from 9:00pm.

 

Flooding is forecast to affect locations near the Wealdstone Brook.

 

Further rain showers are forecast tomorrow, Tuesday 16th July, but no further flooding is expected and river levels should fall from early morning.

 

We are monitoring rainfall and river levels and checking rivers for blockages.

 

Residents are strongly urged to take action now. Remain safe and be aware of your surroundings.

 

Monitor local water levels and weather conditions. Consider putting your flood plan into action. You should avoid walking, cycling or driving through flood water.

 

This message will be updated by 10am on Tuesday 16th July, or as the situation changes.

 

Flood warning area: The Wealdstone Brook at Kenton including Wealdstone and Wembley.

INFORMATION PAGE HERE

Warnings of likely sewage discharge into Wealdstone Brook

 

Thanks to social media we know that there appears to be yet another sewage discharge into the Wealdstone Brook at Lindsay Drive in Kenton ward.

Resident promises legal action if Minterne Road planning application approved tonight

 

A planning application to demolish six garages in Minterne Road, Kenton, and replace with a 4 bedroom house will be heard at Planning Committee tonight. A supplementary report has been published today reporting a further submission by a local resident. The report is published below

A local resident has objected to the proposal re-iterating their concerns that the plan is not feasible and will destroy the neighbourhood and severely impact their privacy as the proposal would overlook their garden and side of their house. 

They requested that the Planning Committee make a site visit to further understand the impacts. The objector has also specified that they would take legal action against council if the proposal is approved.

The concerns raised about (sic) in terms of impact on the character of the neighbourhood, privacy and overlooking to neighbouring properties have been discussed within the committee report. 

Members of the Planning Committee do make themselves familiar with the site and the surrounding context prior to considering the application at the committee meeting. A formal Planning Committee site visit was not considered necessary in this instance as it is possible to understand the proposal, the site and its context from the information available to members.

 
Recommendation: Remains to Grant Consent subject to conditions as set out within the draft decision notice.

Key questions for Kenton councillors over Brent Council's action on polio virus

 

COPY OF EMAIL SENT TO THE 3 KENTON WARD COUNCILLORS – WEDNESDAY 17^TH AUGUST 2022 –

 

Wednesday 17^th August 2022.

 

Dear Kenton Ward Councillors,

 

Re: Cllr.Neil Nerva’s email to all Brent Councillors and the UKHSA Press Release

 

As I am sure you are aware I have been raising serious concerns about the presence of untreated raw human sewage seen floating in the Wealdstone Brook as it flows through the open access areas of Woodcock Park here in the Kenton Ward of Brent for some months now.

 

The latest press release from the UK Health Security Agency included in Cllr Neil Nerva’s email to all Brent Councillors dated Monday 10^th August 2022 includes reference to the detection of the polio virus in Brent waterways along with the detection of this virus in 7 other north London Boroughs connected in some way or the other with the Beckton Sewage Works in east London.

 

Councillors are being urged by Cllr Nerva and indeed the UK HSA along with health professionals in the areas concerned to promote the polio booster vaccination programme for children aged one to nine.

 

My questions to you as my Kenton Ward Councillors included in the email from Cllr.Nerva are;

 

1.    From which waterways in Brent were samples taken that indicated the presence of the polio virus?

2.    What measures are Brent Council putting in place to secure those waterways to help prevent access and reduce the potential for infection?

3.    Will samples of the water flowing in the Wealdstone Brook be included in the analysis being undertaken by the UKHSA and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)? And will these samples include both the water flowing in Brent as well as in Harrow?

4.    Given that in the UK HSA Press Release dated 10^th August there is the following statement; 

 

“ The level of poliovirus found and high genetic diversity among the PV2 isolates suggest that there is some level of virus transmission in these boroughs which may extend to adjacent areas. This suggests that transmission has gone beyond a close network of a few individuals.”

 

what immediate measures are Brent Council taking to monitor whether there is any indication of any individual in Brent showing potential signs of infection from the polio virus?

 

Our recent understanding and experiences from the Covid-19 virus pandemic would surely be enough to set alarm bells ringing amongst Brent Councillors and Brent Council Officers, that action in dealing with this polio virus outbreak has to be top priority for the health and safety of Brent residents.

 

Yours sincerely

 

John Poole,

(Kenton address supplied)

 

Cross-party and non-party call for Brent Council to play its part in tackling Wealdstone Brook pollution

 'Nauseating' - Wealdstone Brook earlier this year

 

Wembley Matters has covered the long-running issue of sewage and other pollution of the Wealdstone Brook that runs through parts of Harrow and Brent. Environmental campaigners, local residents and local political parties, have joined together to put pressure on the Environment Agency and Thames Water to take action.

 

As a member of Brent Green Party I welcome this cross-party and non-party approach to an important local environmental issue that affects everyone regardless of party.

 

At Full Council on July 11th Kenton resident John Poole will be make a deputation about the matter and later a motion from the Conservative Group, which I hope will received support from across the council chamber, will ask Brent Council to do all in its power to ensure the brook is cleaned up by the relevant agencies,  rectify wrongly connected foul sewers and consider legal action.

 

This is the Conservative Group Motion

Pollution of the Wealdstone Brook

 

The Wealdstone Brook, which runs in open water, starts in Harrow, runs through Woodcock Park in Kenton and then into Wembley past all the new developments around the stadium before reaching the River Brent, has been heavily polluted with untreated human sewage and toxic chemicals for some considerable time.

 

The Wealdstone Brook has nothing living in it – it is effectively a dead river.  The toxic smells which have come from liquids evaporating at low temperatures from the Brook water are nauseating and residents who live close to the Brook or have been walking close to the Brook in Woodcock Park, have been feeling physically sick as a result of these noxious odours.

 

 

Thames Water, who have been investigating the sources of the pollution, have admitted liability for cleaning up the pollution.  They have agreed that the pollution of the Wealdstone Brook is one of the worst they have come across but as a result of the shared responsibility for the maintenance of the Brook as it passes through Brent, Brent Council and the Environment Agency must also share some of the responsibility.

 

As a result the residents living nearby have expressed their disgust at the state of the Brook and consider that Brent Council should have declared this to be a ‘Major Incident’ once it had reports of untreated human sewage, toxic gases and smells vaporising from the water of the Wealdstone Brook.

 

This Council therefore resolves:

 

To do whatever is necessary and within the Council’s power to ensure that the water in Wealdstone Brook is cleaned up.

 

To do what the Council can to ensure that the agencies concerned take the necessary steps to detect and rectify all wrongly connected foul sewers which run into the Brook and to put them right at no cost to Council tax payers, in Brent.

 

To seek legal opinion as to whether legal action can be taken against the agencies that have responsibility for ensuring that the Wealdstone Brook is free of pollution if there is no immediate rectification of the problem.

 

 

To ensure in light of a serious risk to public health and as a matter of urgency the necessary actions are taken as soon as possible to put the foregoing into practice. 

 

Councillor Michael Maurice

 

Kenton Ward

Barnhill by-election result could be over-turned by Courts. Hearing starts tomorrow.

The two day recount hearing for the Barnhill by-election starts tomorrow and as a bombshell curtain raiser the Kilburn Times today LINK  reveals that sacks of votes went astray at Clock Cottage, Kenton, which is one of the Council's storage depot.

The Barnhill Conservatives launched a petition to the High Court alleging that 100 votes were moved from the Conservative pile and transferred to the Labour pile. These were double votes - votes for the two Tories. If the recount transfers 100 votes to the Conservative they will be declared winners.  However the Council confidently told the Kilburn Times that they think the result will be upheld by the courts.

The Count is taking place in Room 73 (largest room) at the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. 

The real issue has changed with the discovery of the missing sack which only emerged when the Court asked for the ballot forms.

As readers will know I hold no brief for the Conservative Party but I do believe that elections should be conducted fairly so welcome this hearing to clear up the matter. I was a Green Party candidate at this by-election along with my colleague Pete Murry.

This is the statement made to Wembley Matters by Stefan Voloseniuc who with Kanta Mistry was a Conservative candidate for the ward.

On 23 January this year, we had three by-elections in the London Borough of Brent and I was one of the Conservative candidates for Barnhill Ward, alongside my colleague Kanta Mistry. We worked extremely hard and managed to do well; however, on the evening of the elections during the count, a bundle of our 100 votes had been unduly moved to the Labour Party’s candidates votes, leading them to win by a small margin. Despite our persistent requests on that evening for a recount and a flick through the bundles the Returning Officer (RO) Chief Executive Officer Carolyne Downs rejected our requests entirely. 

After the election I spoke to the Electoral Commission about the RO’s behaviour at the count. I was informed that the RO ought to have allowed a recount and flick through of the bundles on the day. The sacks are supposed to be sealed as per the People’s Act 1983, which states that the RO has a duty to ensure that each sack containing the ballot papers must be sealed and stored securely, to avoid any interference with the ballot papers by any parties. As such, in order to have a recount, we needed to file a Petition at the High Court, asking for a recount. We followed this process and we managed to obtain a hearing to seek an Order for a recount to take place at Court with the Court giving permission for the seals to be removed and the recount to take place in the High Court itself.

To our surprise, a few days before the hearing the RO’s legal representatives informed us that the seals (of the Barnhill Ward alone, and not the other two wards) were found to be broken. We requested evidence in the form of pictures and witness statements. We were informed that further evidence will follow. Upon receiving this evidence in the form of witness statements on behalf of the RO, we discovered that they could not find the seals on the sacks You  will find upon reading the  statement made by the Head of Executive and Member Service, there has been serious breach in following the prescribed lawful procedure. 

Once we came to learn of this significant breach, we requested for the recount (which is listed to take place on 16 and 17 July 2020) to also include a count of all unused ballot papers in order to reconcile the total ballots printed (used and unused), particularly as the sacks were not sealed, open to interference by anyone. 

The RO refused our request for the recount and reconciliation of the unused ballot papers; however, the RO willingly agreed to a recount of the unused ballot papers ONLY IF the recount result went against the Labour Party candidates. I am sure you agree that this clearly points towards partiality in favour of the Labour Party, despite a duty by the RO to remain neutral.

The  witness statement made by Thomas Cattermole, Brent Council Head of Executive and Member Services to the Court sets out the events surrounding the seach for the missing Barnhill papers. 

The storage room at Clock Cottage was visited several times before they were found in a sack labelled "23/5/19 EU elections BP's' in pen. It had no seal and it was dirty on the outside.  It was upright and it was surmised that nothing had fallen out and nothing was found on the floor on checking. Cattermole said that he could only assume the papers were placed in a sack that already had the EU elections label on it. Photographs were taken in accordance with the Judge's Order.

The sack along with others from Barnhill ward is now secured in a locked, limited access area in Brent Civic Centre.

Details of next round of Brent Connects meetings - all residents welcome. Get on your soapbox and air your concerns to Brent Council

From Brent Council

Kilburn	Harlesden	Wembley	Willesden	Kingsbury & Kenton
Tuesday 26 March 2019 7pm to 9pm	Tuesday 2 April 2019 7pm to 9pm	Wednesday 3 April 2019 7pm to 9pm	Wednesday 17 April 2019 7pm to 9pm	Tuesday 23 April 2019 7pm to 9pm
Front Room Granville Centre, 140 Carlton Vale, London NW6 5HE	Tavistock Hall, Main Hall, 25 High Street, Harlesden NW10 4NE	Patidar House 22 London Road, Wembley HA9 7EX	The Library at Willesden Green, The Performance Space, 95 High Road, Willesden NW10 2SF	Kingsbury High School, Main Hall, Upper School, Princes Avenue, Kingsbury NW9 9JR

The Brent Connects forum meetings offer a great opportunity for residents to hear about what the

 Council are doing in your area and get involved in the decisions the Council makes. Each meeting is

chaired by a Councillor and attended by your local Councillors, Council officers and partner agencies

such as the police and health authority.

At each meeting residents also have an opportunity to express their views and concerns

on an issue of their choice through the ‘soapbox slot’.

You don’t need to register, just come along. Light refreshments will be provided.

Brent to compulsorily purchase Kenton property - more to come?

Residents of Brent will be aware of the number of empty residential properties in the borough and many voices have been raised urging the council to act to bring them back into use for family accommodation.

The Cabinet on Monday LINK will be asked to approve the compulsory purchase of a residential property in Kenton which has a long history of neglect and is currently squatted. The Council claim that the owner has made no determined and ongoing effort to bring the property back into use.

One might expect the Council if the CPO is successful to refurbish the house and add it to the stock of council housing. However, they appear to expect to hand it over to the private sector: ‘Acquisition by the Council and the subsequent sale and refurbishment will achieve a quantitative and qualitative housing gain.’ This doesn't seem to fit with the justification for the CPO in the report which points to the shortage of social housing while the sale and refurbishment will probably add to the over-priced private rental sector:

·      There is a shortage of social housing creating a greater dependency on the private rented sector and increasing the need for the council to make the most of the empty homes throughout the borough. Empty homes are critical in Brent, we are responding to complex needs for housing and working towards increasing this supply by returning empty dwellings to use. 

·      Brent has acute housing pressure, there are over 19,000 households currently on the housing register.
·      Brent has a culturally diverse population and needs a variety of types of homes – for rent and sale, for single people and for families with children. 

·      Current and future need for homes prompts us to make better use of all our existing housing resources, which include empty properties. 

·      Council tax records show that there are 1259 empty properties within the borough of which 859 properties have been empty for 6 months or more. 

·       Empty properties have a significant contribution to make in Brent’s development of a sustainable community, returning them to use helps to increase the housing 
 supply to meet our housing needs, improves the condition of the area and brings increased revenue through council tax. An empty property is a wasted resource especially when there is a need for housing and a shortage of supply

An additional document makes clear that there are risks and costs attached to CPOs where if the issue goes to a public enquiry additional costs of up to £55,000 beyond the purchase price could be incurred. LINK

How will we spend £3.1 million Community Infrastructure Levy in Wembley? What about other areas?

CIL available for distribution in each area

The Community Infrastructure Levy (a levy on development projects to provide support to the community) has yielded the following amounts for different areas of Brent:

Harlesden £206k
Kilburn & Kensal £471k
Kingsbury & Kenton £395k
Wembley £3.1m
Willesden £218k

Readers may have their own comments on the different amounts allocated to each area.

Each area has an agreed set of priorities on which the money can be spent:

Brent Council set out the application process:

A scheme will not be funded unless it meets all essential criteria. The shortlisting criteria for projects are as follows:

• Meets the terms of the CIL Regulations  (2010) as amended
• Has community backing
• Supports, and where possible mitigates the impact of, the development of the area
• Reflects the priorities of the Council & CIL Neighbourhood
• A one-off scheme that does not require additional revenue funding in its delivery or its operation ( or identifies how additional revenue funding may be met)
• Benefits the broadest section of the community
• Offers value for money 

The Head of Planning and Lead Member for Regeneration, Growth, Employment and Skills, will rank all project proposals received for each CIL Neighbourhood by the submission deadline, according to how well they meet the shortlisting criteria, and a shortlist of projects to fund will be agreed. Projects that are not shortlisted will also receive notification and may request feedback on their proposals.

 Applications have to be in by December 1st 2017. The application form can be found HERE.

Have your say on how Community Infrastructure Levy is spent in Brent

From Brent Council

Brent Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Priorities 2017-2020

Title of consultation

Brent Neighbourhood CIL Priorities 2017-2020

Who is consulting?

Planning Policy & Projects

Why are we consulting?

When developers receive planning permission for some larger, new developments, they're required to make a payment to the council. This helps fund local infrastructure improvements. This payment is called Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). Of this, between 15-25% of the funds has to be allocated by the Council as Neighbourhood CIL.

On the basis of feedback received from this consultation, the council will decide how to prioritise spending on particular Neighbourhood CIL funded projects. These projects could be delivered by the council if they relate to council assets, e.g. a park. The council could also deliver projects that are good ideas, but where no other body came forward to deliver them. Alternatively, the council could allocate funds to local community groups where it believes that these groups can deliver the projects themselves.

To streamline the running of Neighbourhood CIL in the borough, Brent has been divided into five local areas: Harlesden, Kilburn, Kingsbury and Kenton, Wembley and Willesden. These are large enough to generate funds that can deliver relatively big projects if this is what the community decides the funds should be spent on. The areas are, however, also  small enough to encourage communities to feel they are likely to benefit from the projects that are delivered. Ultimately, the decision on what to spend the funds on still rests with the council, but we will provide clear feedback on how we have come to any decisions.

Links

Consultation

CIL Cabinet report

CIL appendix

Brent Connects Meetings in June and July

Cllr Dan Filson, Chair of Scrutiny, said he would be attending Brent Connects meetings to pick up the concerns of residents.  Here are details of the current round:

The 'Tale of Two Tory groups' continues at next Brent Council Meeting

The sllocation of opposition committee places is on the agenda for the next Full Council meeting on June 22nd.

In addition to the 8th Scrutiny Committee place the other positions are:

At the AGM the Council voted to recognise the Conservative Group (three Kenton Conservatiev councillors) as the principal opposition group. They now have to allocate committee places between that group and the Brent Conservative Group (recognised as the official opposition by Conservative HQ and consisting of three Brondesbury Park Conservative councillors).

The Liberal Democrats are not recognised as a group because that requotes two or more councillors and they have only one.

Clearly these 6 places can be divided equally between the two groups giving each councillor a role. It will be interesting to see the distribution of 'compliant' and 'awkward squad' places.

Update on Brent Conservatives rift

The Kilburn Times LINK has followed up my story on the row between the rival Conservative groups on Brent Council LINK.  I had offered Cllr Suresh Kansagra the opportunity to comment on my piece but he did not respond.

This is what he told the Kilburn Times:

Cllr Suresh Kansagra said they (the Kenton group)  did not attend the (Conservative HQ organised) meeting because they did not recognise it as constitutional and will challenge any decision not made in their favour.

He told the Times: “We called our (Kenton Conservative AGM) meeting on May 11, a proper legal meeting, our constitution and the constitution of the conservative central office. That constitution allows only the leader, the leader of the group and members. They (the Brondesbury Park group)  were not invited because they are not paid members of the group.

“As far as we are concerned we are the conservative group on Brent council unless I am told otherwise from anywhere. Central office does not have the authority to call other AGMs under the constitution of the group.”

He said they were notified to attend the meeting but not consulted.

“We do not recognise them as Conservative Party members,” he said.

 At the Council Annual General Meeting on Wednesday a vote will be taken by the whole Council (56 out of 63 of whom are Labour councillors) on who to recognise as the principal opposition group.

It could be lively.